Should You Avoid Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (CGX)?

Is Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX) undervalued? Hedge funds are becoming less confident. The number of long hedge fund positions were cut by 2 in recent months.

At the moment, there are many metrics shareholders can use to track the equity markets. A couple of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX)

Equally as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the world of equities. There are lots of stimuli for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if you know where to look (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the latest action surrounding Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX).

Hedge fund activity in Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX)

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -22% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Algert Coldiron Investors, managed by Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron, holds the largest position in Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX). Algert Coldiron Investors has a $2.8 million position in the stock, comprising 0.9% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Gotham Asset Management, managed by Joel Greenblatt, which held a $2.4 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.

Since Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX) has experienced declining sentiment from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there were a few hedge funds who were dropping their positions entirely at the end of the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Neil Chriss’s Hutchin Hill Capital said goodbye to the biggest investment of the “upper crust” of funds we watch, comprising an estimated $0.3 million in stock., and Charles Davidson of Wexford Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.2 million worth. These moves are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds at the end of the first quarter.

How have insiders been trading Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX)?

Insider buying is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX). These stocks are Safeguard Scientifics, Inc (NYSE:SFE), Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:UEPS), Multi-Color Corporation (NASDAQ:LABL), Higher One Holdings, Inc (NYSE:ONE), and Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX). This group of stocks belong to the business services industry and their market caps resemble CGX’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
Safeguard Scientifics, Inc (NYSE:SFE) 8 2 0
Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:UEPS) 8 0 0
Multi-Color Corporation (NASDAQ:LABL) 1 0 0
Higher One Holdings, Inc (NYSE:ONE) 11 0 4
Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:FURX) 11 0 2

With the results demonstrated by our strategies, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Consolidated Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:CGX) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds